The Hunting Wasps 



in finding some Locust browsing in the sun- 

 shine. To pounce upon her and sting her, 

 despite her kicking, is to the Sphex the mat- 

 ter of a moment. After some fluttering of 

 its wings, which unfurl their carmine or azure 

 fan, after some drowsy stretching of its legs, 

 the victim ceases to move. It has now to be 

 brought home, on foot. For this laborious 

 operation, the Sphex employs the same 

 method as her kinswomen, that is to say, she 

 drags her prize along between her legs, hold- 

 ing one of its antennae in her mandibles. If 

 she encounters some grassy jungle, she goes 

 hopping and flitting from blade to blade, 

 without ever letting slip her prey. When at 

 last she comes within a few feet of her dwell- 

 ing, she performs a manoeuvre which is also 

 practised by the Languedocian Sphex; but she 

 does not attach as much importance to it, for 

 she frequently neglects it. Leaving her cap- 

 tive on the road, the Wasp hurries home, 

 though no apparent danger threatens her 

 abode, and puts her head through the en- 

 trance several times, even going part of the 

 way down the burrow. She next returns to 

 the Locust and, after bringing her nearer the 

 goal, leaves her a second time to revisit the 

 burrow. This performance is repeated over 

 204 



